I started this post a few days ago to talk about how sweet babies are and how much I love knitting and now it is late Friday and I’m exhausted and ready for a “Holy-shit-we-made-it-a-year-cocktail!!” with the Mr. Yeah. I know. That went by fast for me too, never mind it also involved two cross country moves, three states, far too many moving boxes, two new careers and one very annoyed, pampered pooch.

A second dog doesn’t make a lick of sense right now — even if I know it would make Nelson happy to have a collaborator. The good news: the heat is relenting. Our walks in the morning are darker, but longer. And even prancy paws here is getting the hang of Arizona living.

Sisters in Spirit is a series of essays by a group of women who felt a spiritual perspective lacking from the steady stream of daily news. They each agreed to carve space monthly on their blogs for a spiritual conversation. The topic this month is: Sabbath.

The first time I saw the Sabbath being honored in a meaningful way was during a visit to Israel in 1999. I’d won a scholarship to spend three weeks in Israel and Palestine studying journalism with other college students. On a Friday afternoon, during an otherwise packed agenda, we were given a few hours to go to the Wailing Wall and wander the Old City in Jerusalem. But we were warned by our guide, Tamar, that under no circumstances should we find ourselves within the walled city after sundown.

It was a Friday. There would be both a call to prayer for Muslims and the fall of Sabbath for Jews. The shops and food carts within the walled gates would be closed and we would stick out as tourist targets if we were still inside when everyone else was setting off to meet their religious responsibilities.

After tucking my tiny note between thousands of others in the cracks of the temple walls, I scurried along the cobblestones as the sun sunk along the horizon. Sure enough, families closed their shops and the muezzin signaled prayer time from the minaret. The sunset reflected in the gold dome of the Temple Mount and curlycue Jews took their children by the hands, leading everyone inside.

Sabbath. A day of reflection, prayer and rest – as decreed by God in Genesis when even the Almighty wanted a day off. The word Sabbath is noted more than 100 times in the Old Testament and more than 60 in the New Testament. God is not joking around about instructing Christians to make one day a week different.

There have been times of my life when I spent Sundays at church and with family – conscious not to be working around the house or lugging a cart of groceries from the store. Lately, Sundays have been spent harried, cleaning, cooking, catching up and preparing for the week ahead.

My ideal Sabbath would be:

Wake up early and take Nelson for a walk, run or hike. Attend church service and be fully present to hear the message. Have brunch with friends. Spend the afternoon reading and napping. Have dinner with friends. Speak with my parents before going to bed early, preparing my mind for the week ahead.

What’s missing from that day? Time on the Internet. Dirty dishes. Worry. Television. Anything that makes me anxious.

What’s present? My attention to faith, friends and family. Rest.

While I’ll never be the orthodox Jew closing my store and spending 24 hours attending a diligent Sabbath, I can be the liberal United Methodist who gets her lazy butt to church and doesn’t worry about what is happening on Twitter. Thankfully, there is a Sunday each week when I get a do-over to try to do this right.

Can I get an amen?

I hope you continue this conversation by reading and commenting other perspectives on Christianity with my other Sisters in Spirit. Become part of the conversation:

Sarah is municipal attorney, mom to two boys, and United Methodist’s pastor’s wife. (She does not play the organ.) She is a life-long Missouri girl with a heart for hospitality and social justice. Sarah enjoys cooking, running, knitting and embroidery, reading, and playing in the sprinkler. Sarah blogs at www.beautyschooldropout.net

Bianca is a Navy wife from the great state of Texas (where she coincidentally currently resides), and she and her husband welcomed their first child in the fall of 2012. She has a passion for serving others, asking hard questions and sharing The Gospel with both her words and actions. Bianca loves Jesus, her hubs & her son, authentic friendships, traveling, making lists of all kinds, and trying new recipes which she blogs about on BecomingBianca.com

Rhonda is an attorney and native of Missouri. She is known for being overly-emotionally invested in her three, elderly dogs and dabbling in a ridiculous amount of hobbies, including sewing, music, and writing, while mastering none. She was baptized in her late twenties and is amazed and grateful that Jesus continues to put up with her. She blogs at bigsnafu.com.

We celebrated D’s birthday this weekend with some of his high school and college friends. A few shots of, what else? The dinner party food:

I do not have a table cloth big enough for this beast. We also did not have 12 plates. (Moving, downsizing.) Thankfully, a Goodwill trip on half-off day and $12 later, we made it work.

I tried to make things as Dutch as I could. The tulip napkins and felt tulips came from his last visit to Holland, and were used for the appetizers. The windmill plate was meant for cheese, which I forgot. We used it for stroopwafels instead.

Tutorial on this beast later in the week. While it may not look super pretty in this shot, this is one of my very favorite things to cook: kale and apple stuffed pork loin, cooked on a bed of apples.

That is supposed to be a chocolate pumpkin. Sadly, like the pumpkins I’ve ever tried to grow, it came out a little floppy. Served with that raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream, just like last weekend — there were no leftovers.

Stuffed dates, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed pork, two types of cake and two individuals who are also so stuffed*, we are changing back on the no-sugar wagon. Next stop: Healthytown. (See? Sometimes I can remember the cheese.)

My friend Duda had a birthday this month. To celebrate, I sewed her a gardening apron. Among other gardening projects, she is leading group of high school students. Together they are transforming a bramble of forgotten earth into its former glory. You can follow her story here.

Duda is one of those friends who feels like we’ve known each other since childhood. It is easy, accepting and engaging. Plus, she’s African.

The second time through a pattern is always more enjoyable. I am loving both this yarn (Malabrigo) and the pattern. The result is soft, tightly knit and something I hope the recipient enjoys for many winters.

I spent some time this weekend planting one of our four patios. I came in well under budget, spending just $25 on pots (thanks to a finding a dozen on Craigslist) and $25 at the nursery on dirt and succulents.* The rest, I had and repotted — including some container gardening seeds from Native Seed.

I am very happy with the results, and will be thrilled in 60-120 days when we are able to reap the bounty of this little harvest. I’ve got a bunch of herbs, tomatoes, peas and peppers planted. I have two more seed packets of tomatoes to plant, but am waiting until it cools a bit more.

I will not be deterred by lack of earth. I’ve never had luck with container garden, but perhaps my luck this awful, miserable year is finally turning.

xo,

K

*I texted the woman whose pots I purchased via CL later the same afternoon. She was delighted to see the pots in use. Yay! A good interaction online with a stranger, which still leaves me hesitant and feeling a bit vulnerable.

I am participating in a veggie challenge at work this week. The idea was to encourage all colleagues to intentionally eat more veggies for five days. Each cup of veggies was scored at 2 points, while a cup of fruit was scored at one. (Couldn’t be easier to follow, right?)

I was shocked at how many of my coworkers at the health department sulked around saying, “But I HATE vegetables.” I am big believer as both a gardener and a cook that if you “hate vegetables,” you simply haven’t had them prepared well. A can of green beans can be soggy and gross, where as beans picked off the vine, sauteed in a bit of butter with almond slices and sea salt? Divine.

And of course, since this was a challenge, I had to win. I am fairly incapable of competing in things and not wanting to be the best. (It’s a sickness.) As such, I figured out ways to super size the portions of veggies my team was eating this week. How could we get in 2-3 cups of veggies at breakfast, lunch and dinner? Smoothies, salads and soups.

My favorite tools for eating more vegetables are the blender and the immersion blender. I like a good spicy punch of ginger and kale and apples for breakfast.

And I never met a blended veggie soup I didn’t love, especially if I had the time to roast a head of garlic to throw in the pot too. (The raspberries were dessert.)

And slowly but surely, I’m getting D to try more veggies too. He adamantly does not like a few, which I can understand, but I appreciate his willingness to at least try others. Last week, to our surprise, he liked lima beans.